Thursday, September 27, 2018

What is ISTQB and its benefits?

The demand for testing in the quality assurance industry is on the rise nowadays. According to the World Quality Report 2015-16, the budget for quality assurance is going to reach 40% of the IT budget in 2018, so you can understand why many people are finding their way into this promising field. One of the ways is to obtain a manual testing certificate.

These certificates provide proof that someone has somewhat knowledge and skills in software testing. Right now, one of the most popular testing certification in the world is ISTQB.

ISTQB stand for International Software Testing Qualifications Board - a non-profit organization issue thousands of internationally recognized certifications over more than 70 countries. That why, In this article I will focus only on it.

Type Of ISTQB

Foundation level certification

The only criteria are to have 6 months experience in the testing position. This level demonstrates the understanding of the basic concepts of software testing. Anyone can take it, even if you have nothing to do with the IT industry.

The syllabus covers six main topics:

fundamentals of testing

testing in the software lifecycle

static techniques like reviews

behavioral (black-box)

structural (white-box)

test design; test management and testing tools.

Advanced level certification

This level is designed for at least 5 years practical experience in the testing role. The syllabus is divided into three main areas:

Expert level certification

Design for those who have at least 8 years experience as a tester.

Now you have understood its structure, I want to go deeper into why you should get an ISTQB certification. Below is some reason:

As I have mentioned above, testing certification helps the new start in the Software QA world. Most employers will consider a good certificate as an important criterion in the resume. To obtain one is a plus point in your resume and make you stand out compared to other competitors. When you prepare for the test, you don’t have to take any expensive course. You can self-study, hire a trainer or use ASTQB-accredited education, whatever works best for your finance

It also helps tremendously with professionals who have years of experience. ISTQB Certification helps you gain knowledge about the standard testing definitions and updated technology, so you can have more opportunities to enter a new market. But the most fundamental benefit is to help skilled tester reduce defects.

For software development companies, these certificate help reduce cost and offer greater efficiency and speed, and higher software quality since it’ll be able to reach to knowledgeable and skilled employees. Your companies can also qualify lower tech insurance costs if you hiring ISTQB certified employees.

However, I hope you understand a manual testing certification like ISTQB can’t be enough if you are looking for growth in this technology world. It can be a great extra to your profile but if you want to get somewhere, you must keep learning new things and keep up with all new innovation.